


sidekick

by the_nobody



Category: Tiny Meat Gang (Band)
Genre: Bromance, But just a lil more romantic, Fluff, M/M, Sweet Gestures, but they fix that, cody is clueless, noel is sad, this shits lame af
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-30
Updated: 2019-07-30
Packaged: 2020-07-27 02:21:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,151
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20038321
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/the_nobody/pseuds/the_nobody
Summary: Cody calls Noel his sidekick. It would be nothing if Noel wasnt already doubting his worth.





	sidekick

**Author's Note:**

> Please forgive me for any possible grammatical errors. Also all respect to cody and Noel yall know the drill

_"Introducing, Cody Ko and his friend Noel Miller!"_

That's something that Noel has forced himself to get used to.

Truthfully, it's not that big of a deal. Every now and then, Cody will reassure him,

_"Dont listen to them. __You're_ _not_ _the__ supporting act. "_

Recently though, despite Cody's attempts to make it seem like he wasn't the side talent, he sure as hell was starting to feel like he was.

It was gradual at first; small jokes or "mistakes" on the signs outside of the venues.

_"Ah, you must be _ _Cody's_ _ friend. Haha, _ _I'm_ _ kidding."_

_ **"Sold Out! Cody Ko w/ noel miller!"** _

Things he would normally brush off if they weren't so persistent. Now, he was questioning if they had any underlying truth.

It seemed as if the universe itself was telling him so. Everywhere he looked, signs, comments, his friends. It was _loud, too. _The labels given to him would echo and boom in his head every time he would think about them.

There was a small part of him that knew he was too in his head. He's just as funny and talented as Cody. With that being said, the doubtful side outweighed his rationality.

He was just as equal as Cody, _right?_

He needed to stop thinking. He needed to talk to Cody about it. That always made him feel better. Having his friend assure him that this was bullshit.

He took a seat in front of Cody who was clicking away at his laptop, most likely editing a video.

"That sign outside was pretty wack, huh?" He said, hoping his problem was easy to pick up on.

Cody glanced up at him.

"Huh? Oh, I didnt see it." He replied.

He stopped editing to focus on Noel.

"What? Was it just the usual sidekick shit?" He asked him.

That caught Noel off gaurd completely.

Hes gotten supporting act, supporting talent, friend of, guest of, that one guy from Cody's videos, but never sidekick. He knows for a fact hes never been referred to as Codys' sidekick. Thats something that would have stuck to him.

So, why did Cody of all people just do it?

"Uh, I- yeah. Just normal type stuff, yeah." He stuttered.

Burying his confusion was rough this time. Maybe he was overanalyzing it. It's just a word. He said it, so what? Not everything has to mean something.

But Noel wasnt in a good place to think about the other possible reasons as to why Cody just called him his sidekick. To him, it came deep from his subconscious, as if hes mentally marked him as side kick in his head, or maybe when hes not around.

What if hes his sidekick when hes not around?

"Shit, we gotta get out there soon." Cody closes his laptop and removed himself from his seat.

"_Its not that big of a deal. You're just in your head_." Noel thought to himself.

"Come on, sidekick. We gotta show to do in like, what, thirty?" His voice fading into another part of the bus.

He let the energy of the crowd absorb him. Electricity pumped through him. He was ready.

They both step out on stage, the crowds voices filling up the entire room. Then the show started. It was going smoothly until a fan asked a question.

"Hi, this question is for Noel. Uh, what's it like being known as Cody's friend or whatever all the time?"

The crowd laughed as did Cody. Noel forced a chuckle out. For some reason Cody decided that he was the one to answer the question.

"C'mon, guys. I think my assistant is a little tired of the name calling. Let's keep it to a minimum."

Noel laughed with crowd. That's what he was supposed to do right? When something is funny you laugh, right? Apparently when something is irritably hurtful you're supposed to do that, too; laugh.

Noel didn't know that, but now he did.

He threw an uncomfortable look at Cody, who met his eyes as he wheezed away. He looked back at the crowd. Noel pressed his lips together, shifted his position on his stool, and let his eyes fall to the ground.

He stepped further into Cody's shadow.

-

It was a fantastic show altogether. The crowd loving every joke they cracked. Cody left feeling energized. Noel left pretending to be. In reality, he wanted to sleep today away. Hopefully when he wakes, it'll feel like a dumb dream.

Noel got ready for bed early, desperate to get away from all the jokes involving him. It was just him on the bus. Cody had stayed behind at the venue to mingle with some people he met. Noel brushed his teeth in the small bathroom. He caught a glimpse of his reflection and proceeded to observe his face.

_Yep, _he thought to himself. _That's__ Cody Ko's...who __gives__ a fuck._

He sighed and cleaned himself up. He heard a door open.

"Noel?" It was Cody.

He closed the door and made his way further through the bus.

Noel really didnt want to hear another joke. He just wanted to go to bed.

He exited the bathroom and didn't bother responding to Cody. He went to retreave his phone from the table.

"Dude," cody said when Noel came to get his phone.

"why'd you leave the venue so fast? You feelin' alright?"

Cody was standing by the door as if he was about to leave.

"Yeah, I'm just," he filled the blank with a bothered shrug.

He shoved his phone in the pocket of his sweats and was about to head to bed when Cody spoke up again.

"Noel, wait." He gently directed.

And he did so. Dead in his tracks. He already wasnt fond of the tension that had rose when Cody ordered him to stop.

Noel turned to face him. He could see Cody trying to make out what was wrong with him.

"What's up with you?" He asked.

"What do you mean?" Noel bluffed.

"You seem- I dunno, down. Something bothering you?"

"Nah, just worn out, yknow."

_Yeah, being your assistant is pretty fucking exhausting._

He actually had to bite his tongue to prevent himself from letting that out.

"Uh, I'm finna go chill with the guys. Did you wanna come with? I know you're dressed for bed, but theres a sick greenroom in there and-"

As Cody continued talking, Noel grew more paranoid. Another joke was right around the corner, he knew it. He didnt want to be awake to hear it. Besides, hanging out with a group of people only increased the chances of it happening.

"That's okay, man. Imma get a head start on sleeping. I'm cool." He declined and walked away from him.

He heard the door close behind him and felt at ease knowing he was alone. He sighed out some of the stress and stopped right in front of his bed to ask himself if he was actually sleepy.

No.

He put his head phones on and paced around the bus to tire himself. Even through the baseline of the song he was listening to, his thoughts still resurfaced and they were louder than ever.

He pushed off his headphones so that they rested around his neck. He breathed frustration out only to breath it back in. It shouldn't be this deep, but it is.

"Hey," He heard someone say behind him.

He swiftly spun around, not expecting another person to be in here with him.

"Thought you were hangin out." He was visibly antsy, it was stricken on his face.

Cody shrugged.

"I, uh...it felt weird witho- with it being so late." he stopped himself.

It was nine fifteen.

"Its nine fifteen." Noel stated flatly.

"Yeah, I know, it's just." He scratched the back of his neck.

"Listen, I didn't wanna just leave you here alone. 'Cause I feel like you're upset about something. You look stressed out. You dont have to talk about it, but I'll feel shitty if I dont stay."

Noel didnt protest. He simply shrugged and muttered a low, "okay."

Cody went to the bathroom to get ready to rest. Noel tried pacing again to no avail. He sighed, thinking of the long night that lied ahead.

He heard Cody call his name from the bathroom.

"Yo, I left my toothpaste on top of my bag. You mind getting it?"

"Yeah, hang on."

Noel got his toothpaste. Whatever. Cody opened the door and muttered a thank you. Just as he almost shut the door he heard Noel mutter,

"Sure, _boss_."

It clicked.

He fully opened the door.

"Is that what this is about?" He asked.

"Hm?" Noel hummed.

"Boss? The whole assistant thing? Is that why..."

Then everything really clicked.

"Oh..." he whispered.

Noel tried to act clueless.

"What are you talkin about, man?"

But that defense crumbled.

"You got really nervous looking during the assistant bit, and you were acting off when I called you sidekick earlier. Dude, you know I dont mean that shit. I-"

"I know," Noel interjected.

"I know, its fine. I dont care. It's cool." He waved a hand dismissively and started walking to his bed.

Cody lightly gripped Noels wrist. He didnt want him to dismiss or run away from it. He tugged him back around to face.

"No, it's not." He let his arm fall back to his side.

"I didn't know it bothered you like that." Cody says.

"It doesn't." He lies.

"Noel, c'mon." He raises his eyebrows.

He sighs.

"Its not that big of a deal. It's a joke and I get that and I dont know why its dragging me down so much."

Cody doesnt say anything. He waits for Noel to keep going.

"Bruh, it's so dumb, but its been hitting different lately. Today especially. It was weird because even you were saying it and-and I genuinely have been feeling like your shadow. It was like God said 'oh, he feels like shit? Let's make it worse.' and today happened."

Cody wallowed in guilt as he continued.

"You literally called me your sidekick today. Twice. You're not serious, I know, but hearing it from you fucked me up. You're always telling me to tune that shit out and then you hit me with sidekick and assistant and-"

"I'm really sorry." Cody stopped him.

"I really didnt mean it like that at all. If I had known you were feeling that way I wouldn't have said all that."

Noel nodded unconvincingly.

"I know. Really, it's cool. I'm just thinkin too much."

Cody sighed.

"I just dont want you thinking that's what I actually think about you cause it's not. I know you hate soft shit but I dont think I can see myself doing this shit without you and if the option was ever presented to go solo I'd turn that shit down so fast. You're legit my best friend."

"Dont start, man."

"I'm serious, man." Cody was smiling.

"Dude, you know- you remember that guy that came up to me at that bar in Portland?"

Noel cringed as he recalled that night.

"The guy who was obviously trying to get you to be in his porno?"

"I thought he was asking me to be in a movie or something." He put his hands up defensively. "

And he was asking me all these questions, and I told him straight up _if my friend over there in the __camo__ hat isnt in it __I'm__ not doing it." _

"Dude, he was a porn caster. You could of had us on a casting couch you fucking dumbass."

"I mean, true, but we would have done it together. As a team-"

"Please shut the fuck up." Noel cut him off.

"Okay, I'll stop, but you know what I'm getting at though. You're not my sidekick. Youre my partner, my friend, literally what makes TMG what it is. Some might even argue that you're the more handsome one, but I dont know..."

"Yeah, okay. I wouldn't go that far." He shook his head.

"Oh, so you're saying that I'm the hottest out of us two."

Noel thought about it.

"Never said that."

"You were thinking it."

"Well, as your assistant it's my job to stroke your ego every now and then. Y'know when I'm not sitting along the sidelines watching you fight crime."

"Dude, stop." Cody whined.

"I'm joking man." Noel brushed his hand on his arm.

"Are you?" He asked.

"Yeah, actually. Your trashy ass pep talk made me feel less shitty. Thanks for that."

"Good. Thought I was gonna have to hug you or something."

"I mean,"

Noel flashed a goofy yet somewhat inviting smirk. Cody rolled his eyes.

"Dude, stop being so gay. God damn." He jokingly said, a light pink tint painted on his face.

They continue bantering before both went their separate ways. Neither of them were tired though.

"Yo, Cody," Noel said, rolling over.

"What's up?"

He thought about what he was going to say. He reiterated it a few times in his head.

"If its any constellation, if that guy came up to me with that pitch, I totally wouldn't have done it unless we were both Eiffel towerin' the girl."

It was supposed to be sweet, but Noel didn't want to come off as too soft.

Cody chuckled.

"No homo, but same, man."

The next morning, they both walked to the venue together, coffee in hand complaining about how frigid it was.

"Fuck, this makes me miss LA." His voice was just as tremulous as his hand that held his drink.

Noel glanced at him, amused at how the weather was getting to him. He diverted his attention back to the theater in front of him. He noticed the sign above it. He noticed how, in front of his name, was a classic **_supporting act. _**Despite being so hung up on it last night, he didn't find himself giving in to the degrading lable. He knew what he was, and he knew he was more than the supporting act.

"Oh, c'mon." Cody chimed, gazing at the sign.

Noel gently hit his shoulder with the back of his hand.

"Ah, it's cool. I dont really care anymore after last night."

At that point they were right outside, basically breaking their necks looking reading it.

"Yeah, well, I do." Cody stated.

He had Noel hold his coffee before he made his way for the entrance. Noel knew that tone. He'd seen enough pissed off white soccer moms to know that Cody was about to pull some speak to the manger shit. He trailed after him, as if he was the ken doll husband who was attempting to calm the wife down.

"Where you goin? Dude- ugh."

The door had already shut behind Cody. Noel awkwardly opened the door, still with their coffees in his hands. By the time he made it inside, his soccer mom wasnt anywhere in sight. He placed one of the drinks on a small table next to some chairs and texts Cody.

**Aye, fuck you doin**

He sent it, and it only took a minute for a response. It wasn't in the form of a text message however.

Cody emerged from around the corner, struggling to carry a fully sized ladder.

"Hey, can you get the door for me?" He said as if what he was doing didn't need any context.

"What the f- okay." Noel held the door open and they both were back in the freezing cold again.

He set up the ladder right below the sign. All while being asked,

"What the fuck are you doing?"

He grunted as he began climbing the ladder.

"Fixing it!" He answered.

Letters from the sign began raining on him due to Cody carelessly dropping them as he removed them.

"Are you-Is this allowed?" Noel gathered the letters up from the ground.

Cody felt a wave of satisfaction as he looked at what he had done.

"I mean, no one in there was willing to do it. So, I had to, you know, do the what around here."

Noel looked up at him. He had been too busy cleaning up after him to look at what he was doing.

"What exactly is the what in this case?" He asked as Cody began climbing back down from the wobbling ladder.

Noel gripped onto the unsteady thing the best as he could with the letters in his hand.

"Woah, shit. Don't..." he laughed.

"Don't fall."

Cody was now back on the ground. He gazed up at it.

"What do you think? Did I tweak it for the better?" He asked.

Noel finally got to look at the sign. He grinned as he did so.

**Noel Miller and Cody Ko!**

"I dont think you're names' ever been before mine, so..." Cody went on some tangent that Noel unintentionally blocked out.

Even though the air around him was pretty much turning his body to ice at the moment, a different type of warmth consumed him. One that his thick hoodie couldn't provide. A warmth that heated him up from the inside.

"Cody," Noel started.

"the letters were a bitch to remo- yeah?" He turned to him, studying his face.

He wasnt red, but he was blushing. He had a child like smile on his face; one that was contagious. Cody, not that he tried to, couldn't fight the smile that seemed to appear instantly after seeing how thrilled the man next to him was.

"What?" He laughed fondly.

Noel shrugged.

"I dunno; this is some nice ass shit man. That's all." He looked to the ground in an attempt to hide how flustered he was.

It was Cody's turn to shrug.

"I mean, its just a minor change. Its not the sweetest thing I couldve-" he was cut off.

"Shut up, bro. Its sweet as fuck. I appreciate you. Really, I do." He nudged him a little bit.

Cody studied him again. He was aware of how Noel was never one to get _soft. _Even now, it was evident that he was holding back; covering up his giddiness with a playful shove and constantly staring at his shoes. It was cute.

That's not what he meant.

He meant nice. As in _it's nice_ seeing Noel so gleeful. That's what he meant.

"Alright, whatever," he snapped himself out of it.

"Help me get this ladder back inside. It's the least you could do after the nice gesture I just pulled for you."

Noel didnt hesitate to assist him. They dropped it back off in a closet where Cody acquired it from.

"Hey, where the fucks our coffee?" He asks Noel.

"Oh shit," Noel turned a heel to head back to the lobby.

"After all that and you abandon my coffee like that? Yeah, okay." Cody follows him.

"I know," he turned around, smiling.

"I'm still trash at this assistant thing. You'll have to bare with me."


End file.
